- Ellen Kirkland
- (L-to-R) Congresswoman Kathy Castor, USF's Rocky, Ken Welch and others aboard PSTA
Congresswoman Kathy Castor was on hand in St. Pete on Wednesday to tout the Greenlight Pinellas plan and to kick off the addition of USFSP to Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) U-Pass program.
She launched the event with what she called an impromptu Transit Town Hall.
To the surprise of bus driver, Will Baker, Castor stepped aboard the southbound PSTA Route 4 bus at 6th Ave and 3rd St. South at 10:00 am and road the 40+ minute looping route south along the shore line on 4th Street South from USF to Roy Hannah Dr. in the Pinellas Point neighborhood and then back up to USFSP.
Baker said, “I had no idea she was going to be on here today.”
Castor spoke with smiling and bemused passengers who were running errands and commuting to and from work or school. The unusually intimate setting allowed a rare opportunity for Castor to speak one-on-one with constituents about mass transit and other concerns.
- Ellen Kirkalnd
- Congresswoman Kathy Castor accompanied by Rocky at USFSP
The PSTA U-Pass program allows area schools and employers to provide students and employees unlimited year round mass transit aboard all PSTA routes as part of their overall benefits package.
The program includes the City of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg College and now USFSP. The USFSP web-site says, “There’s one more perk available for USFSP Bull’s.”
Students, faculty and staff can now ride all of PSTA's 200 bus routes free of charge. All USFSP riders have to do is show their University ID cards upon boarding the bus.
- Ellen Kirkland
- USF bull looks on at transit rally.
“With the U-Pass program, USFSP pays a flat rate to provide unlimited access to busses and trolleys for students and employees,” said Joe Trubacz, regional vice chancellor of Administration and Finance, “It’s a huge financial benefit for our commuter students, in particular. And let’s face it, fewer cars on the road benefits us all.”
“This is a wonderful way to underscore USFSP’s commitment to sustainability,” added Jennifer Winter, sustainability coordinator. “The gas savings alone are incredible, even with the most fuel-efficient cars.”
